Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) is a pathogen responsible for respiratory and locomotor disorders and causes major economic losses in poultry industry. Early and accurate diagnosis of MS infection plays a major role in control of the infection. This study was conducted to characterize Iranian field isolates of MS isolated from broiler chickens of West Azarbaijan province (Northwest of Iran), and differentiate them from vaccine strain MS-H. Two encoding genes, 16S rRNA and vlhA were employed. PCR results using primers related to 16s rRNA and vlhA genes were analyzed and compared. Out of 21 field samples, eight samples (38.0%) were positive using both sets of primers. Amplified products of vlhA gene were sequenced for MS strain identification. The results showed that Iranian field isolates of MS had high nucleotide and amino acid similarity. Iranian field isolates were distinct from vaccine strain MS-H. Results presented in this study showed that characterization of field isolates of MS by sequencing of vlhA gene and is beneficial for strain typing and differentiating them from vaccine strain. To our knowledge, this is the first study characterizing vlhA gene of MS isolates from broiler chickens in the West Azarbaijan province.

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